Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-01-25
The ODD wINANs FAMILY.
Their Great Wealth and Their
Many Peculiarities.

They were both railroad engineers and
both men Of natural genius, although far
from cultivated or scientific engineers.
They had both made money, and they be-
gan to foresee the future OF railway build
ing in Russia. About that time the Gar
drew that celebrated pencil mark across
the map from St. Petersburg to Moscow
as route for a projected railroad. The
story is well known, but is short enough
to repeat here. After all the engineers
had given their views OF the best pract-
cable route between the two
cities before the Gear and the Coun-
oil of State, Nicholas took up
ruler, and, drawing perfectly straight
line by it across the map from St. Peters
burg to Moscow, handed it to them as the
hnal route for the railroad. The Rus
slams had recourse to foreign engineers,
and the Winans took up the work. The
road was successfully laid and great for
tune was secured to them, but it " as not
until 1861 that a locomotive was built
which was complete success. In those
DAYS Russian locomotives burnt wood
altogether, and it was only after II
years of experiments that the right kind
OF locomotive was built. But from then
on their fortunes began TO be colossal.
Thomas had married the daughter of a
him two children Ross Winans,
of Baltimore, and Celeste, now
married to MIR. Hutton, young English
man in the diplomatic service. William
had married an English woman of the
middle class and returned to England to
enjoy his wealth. Since the time that he
first crossed the ocean on his way to Rus
STA in 1914, William Winaus has never
returned to this country. In both
brothers strain Of eccentricItY early de-
veioped itself, and In William 1t took the
form of a nervous dread Of crossing the
ocean. Never did any American become
so thoroughly weaned from his country.
He often says that be would not cross the
Atlantic for e1,000,O00, nor is ne even
willing that his two sons, William and
Louis, shall.
Mr.. Winan's manner OF enjoying his
money is at least unique. He has but
one taste, but one aptitude, but one en-
plOyment in the world, and that is in
building models of steam vessels after
original designs. This propensity in
Thomas WInans caused MIN to be called
the sc gar-b boat man." and good many
people thought he was little touched on
the SUBJECT. He had a conviction that he
could build boat In the shape OF cigar
that would distance any and everything
afiOat, and spent hundreds of thousands
OF dollars in building them. He launched
several, and they always turned bot
tom upward as soon as they touched
water, which was exactly what all scien-
tlfic men predicted. But old Thomas was
bluff, rich, determined, and not possessed
of any scientific principles to trouble
him, so he rode his hobby up to the dav of
his death, although he became very sensI-
tive about 1t. He was devoted to seeing
LYDIA Thompson in the heyday of her
charms. but the wicked lydia always in
SrnH N1n int hnr rsafa,
ring to the wonderful cigar boat, at which
be would get up in great wrath and quit
the theatre.
William, seeing how his brother be-
came sport tor the scientists, has kept
his experiments as much in the dark as
possible, but he continues, as much from
the force OF habit as anything else, to
model, although his income, &C
cOrding 10 his own acknowledge
ment. IS between 100000 and So
000, Goo yearly. This gigantic sum, which
makes him, next to the Rothschilds and
the Duke of Westminster, the richest
man in England, he spends freely, but
neither he nor his family have any wav OF
spending all of this vast amount. His
house in KensingtOn Palace Garden is
extremely handsome. A noble car
rage drive leads UP to the door
of the engineer prince. The entrance hall
IS lofty, and the two vast drawing rooms
are superb. A charming effect is pro-
duced by vast sheet of plate glass sepa-
rating the two rooms, beside which is an
archway giving communication between
the two. The carpet once laid there bad
q history. A magnificent one was de-
signed and woven at Administer expressly
for the main drawing room. After IL was
laid Mr.. Winans dir not like it, so he had
another one made. When the second one
came the question was what to do with
the first. Mr.. Winans thought IL moment
or two.
just put il down over the first" he
said, as II struck with sudden solution.
so No ,, which had cost hundreds of
pounds, was put down with No. 1, which
had also COST hundreds Of pounds, for a
lining; and Mr. Winans had tle most ex-
pensive floor covering i'll London.
Mrs. mans j. an excellent and UMPIRE
tending woman, who cares but little for
society. She prefers her home at Brighton
to el her the London house or the Scotch
shooting box, as they call their Inverness
shire place, for which they pay $50, 600 a
year. AT Brighton, Mrs. Winans has es-
tablished school, where sixteen girls
are educated and provided for. Mrs.
Winans takes great interest in them, and
after leaving the school she starts them in
life, ard does not lose sight of them.
MIR. Wnaue, too, likes Brighton best.
and is always more or less bored in Lon
don. They do not entertain great deal,
but during the season give te ~ dinners
and one or two crush entertainments. A
favorite method Of entertaining with
them is to have morning concerts at
which they have Patti and Nilsson and
AlOanl and all the highest priced song
birds to MARBLE. Mr.. WInans processes
70 hsye no taste for any body's music ex-
cept PATHS. Al Der first appearance in
st. Petersburg he paid ST 900 for the first
choice OF boxes, at which Freucbmau
remarked that Mr.. Winans might have
gone to Paris and back and heard Patti
sing dozeu times for that sum.
The two sons of William Winans are
both well educated and sensible young
men, but distiRCtively un-AmeriCau, as
the case would inevitably be- The elder,
Walter, narr ell in opposition to his
tathers wishes, who, although refusing
30 pc present at the ceremony, has lonL
since forgiven the young couple. Mr.
Ninans mad social ambitions. and wanted
6is ch Ildren TO marry INTO titled families
But the young men, who care more for
pictures and american trotters than any
thing else, declined to oblige him. The
deer forest which has 80 particularly
exasperated the English press against
him is certainly cOnductnG on linda